Obelisk of Buenos Aires
| Obelisco de Buenos Aires | |
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| Location | San Nicolás, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Coordinates | 34°36′13″S 58°22′54″W / 34.60361°S 58.38167°WCoordinates: 34°36′13″S 58°22′54″W / 34.60361°S 58.38167°W |
| Height | 71.5 meters (235 ft) |
| Built | May 23, 1936 |
| Built for | Monument |
| Restored | 2005 |
| Architect | Alberto Prebisch |
The Obelisco de Buenos Aires (Obelisk of Buenos Aires) is a national historic monument and icon of Buenos Aires. Located in the Plaza de la República, in the intersection of avenues Corrientes and 9 de Julio, it was erected in 1936 to commemorate the fourth centenary of the first foundation of the city.
Construction began on March 20, 1936, and it was inaugurated on May 23 of the same year. It was designed by architect Alberto Prebisch (one of the main architects of the Argentine modernism who also designed the Teatro Gran Rex, in Corrientes and Suipacha) at the request of the mayor Mariano de Vedia y Mitre (appointed by president Agustín Pedro Justo). For its construction, which cost 200,000 pesos moneda nacional, 680 cubic meters (24,000 cu ft) of concrete and 1,360 square meters (14,600 sq ft) of Olaen white stone from Córdoba were used.
The obelisk was built by the German company G.E.O.P.E. - Siemens Bauunion - Grün & Bilfinger, which completed its work in a record time of 31 days, with 157 workers. The rapid hardening Incor cement was used and was built in sections of 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) to facilitate the dumping of concrete.
Its height is 67.5 m, and 63 m of these are up to the initiation of the apex, which is 3.5 by 3.5 meters (11 by 11 ft). The tip is blunt, measuring 40 centimeters (16 in) and ends in a lightning rod that can not be seen because of the height, whose cables run through the interior of the obelisk.
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